1985 Maccabiah Games
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The 12th
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
brought over 4,000 athletes to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
from 38 nations to compete in 28 sports.


History

The Maccabiah Games were first held in
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
.Mitchell G. Bard and Moshe Schwartz (2005)
''1001 Facts Everyone Should Know about Israel''
p. 84.
Among other Olympic and world champions, swimmer
Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...
won 10 Maccabiah gold medals before earning his first of nine Olympic gold medals.


Opening ceremonies

Twenty years after his first appearance in the Maccabiah,
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
champion
Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...
returned to Israel to carry the Opening Ceremony’s Torch into
Ramat Gan Stadium Ramat Gan Stadium ( he, אצטדיון רמת גן, ''Itztadion Ramat Gan'') is a football stadium in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. It served as the national stadium of Israel until 2014. Overview Completed in 1951 and serving ...
. He was accompanied by Shirli Shapiro, Anok Spitzer, and Shlomit Romano, children of three of the Israelis slain in the
Munich Massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
at the 1972 Munich Olympics.


Notable competitors

Seven men's and 14 women's records were broken in swimming, with the U.S. team winning all but three of the
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
s in this category. Twelve new men's records and 7 new women's records were broken in
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
. The U.S. won 109 gold medals, 90
silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
s, and 74
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
s, slightly fewer than half of the medals won by all other countries combined. Canadian Mark Berger, who had won a silver medal at the Olympics the year prior, won a gold medal in judo. Brazilian
Márcio Stambowsky Márcio "Macarrão" Stambowsky (; born February 22, 1959) is a Brazilian martial artist. An 8th degree coral belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, he is one of the " Famous Five" Rolls Gracie black belts. Regarded as one of the top Brazilian competitor ...
won a bronze medal in judo.
James Espir James Espir (born 17 October 1958), is an English middle-distance runner, whose career spanned the late 1970s and early 1980s. Espir competed for Shaftesbury Harriers Athletics Club and for Great Britain. Biography Son of neurologist Michael Luc ...
of the United Kingdom won a gold medal in the 1,500 m run. American Ken Flax won the gold medal in the hammer throw. Canadian Gordon Orlikow, who later was a bronze medalist in the decathlon at the Pan American Games, won the gold medal in the men's decathlon with 7,141 points (finishing in first place in the 110 m hurdles and 1,500 m run, and in second place in the 400 m run, the
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
, discus, javelin, and
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
), and broke the Maccabiah Games record in the 100-meter hurdles at 14.73 seconds, earning a second gold medal. American
Donna Orender Donna Geils Orender (born February 14, 1957) is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was formerly president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and senior vice president of the PGA ...
played for, was the oldest player on, and was captain of the Team USA women's basketball team.Legends Donna Orender
"Donna Orender" , Maccabi USA
Robbie Weingard Robbie Weingard (born May 15, 1963) is an American former basketball player known for his college career at Hofstra University. Between 1981 and 1985, Weingard played point guard for the Hofstra Pride. He set still-standing program records for ...
played basketball for Team USA, helping it win a gold medal. Israeli
Ari Rosenberg Ariel Rosenberg (ארי רוזנברג; born May 8, 1964) is an Israeli former basketball player. He played the guard position. He played in the Israeli Premier Basketball League and on the Israel national basketball team, and won a silver med ...
won a silver medal in basketball with Team Israel. American
Ronni Reis Ronni Reis (sometimes spelled Ronnie Reis; also Ronni Reis-Bernstein) (born May 10, 1966) is an American former tennis player. Reis won three gold medals at the 1985 Maccabiah Games in Israel, the doubles bronze medal at the 1986 Goodwill Games, ...
won the gold medal, and American
Jamie Golder Jamie Golder (born February 21, 1962) is an American former professional tennis player. Biography Born in Fort Lauderdale, Golder played college tennis for the University of Miami before joining the professional tour. During her professional c ...
won the silver medal, in the women's singles tennis event. Shawn Lipman represented South Africa in rugby union, winning a gold medal. American soccer future Hall of Famer Jeff Agoos and
Seth Roland Seth Roland (born 1957) is the head coach of the Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team, a position he has held since 1997. As a player, he won a silver medal with Team USA at the 1981 Maccabiah Games in Israel. As a coach of Team USA, he won a ...
competed in soccer for the United States, which came in 6th.FDU Knights
Nir Levine Nir Levine ( he, ניר לוין; born March 4, 1962) is an Israeli former football player, former caretaker manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and former director of football of Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team. In 2019 he was appointed as the coach o ...
competed for Israel, which won the gold medal. A Junior Maccabiah was held for the first time.


Participating communities

Thirty-eight nations sent delegations. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Summaries of each of the Games
{{Maccabiah Games
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
Maccabiah Games 1980s in Tel Aviv